LOS ANGELES, July 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern
California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced its recognition
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with an ENERGY STAR
Certified Homes Market Leader award for 2019. The award
acknowledges SoCalGas' commitment to environmental protection and
energy efficient construction. In the last five years, SoCalGas has
provided over $8 million in
incentives to residential builders for the construction of
environmentally-friendly, energy efficient homes. SoCalGas account
representatives support builders throughout the construction
process and provide each builder with an incentive check upon
completion of the project. The award comes as a result of the
California ENERGY STAR New Homes Program Marketing Support Bonus
SoCalGas offers as part of its California Advanced Homes Program
(CAHP). The company also received the ENERGY STAR award in 2015,
2017 and 2018.
"Since 2017, we have been the only investor-owned utility in
California to offer the ENERGY
STAR bonus as part of our California Advanced Homes Program and are
thrilled to receive this award yet again," said Brian Prusnek, director of customer programs and
assistance at SoCalGas. "Not only does this award signify our
commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through energy
efficient construction, it also demonstrates SoCalGas' commitment
to our vision to be the cleanest gas utility
in North America."
"The ENERGY STAR program proudly recognizes the efforts of our
outstanding partners who have made important contributions to
energy-efficient construction and environmental protection. Our
2020 Market Leader Award winners demonstrate a high level of
commitment to making ENERGY STAR certified homes and apartments
available to American consumers. EPA proudly recognizes SoCalGas'
efforts as an ENERGY STAR partner," said Jonathan Passe, chief of the ENERGY STAR
Residential Branch at the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency.
"On behalf of the Building Industry Association of Southern California, I would like to
congratulate SoCalGas on its 2020 Energy Star Market Leader Award,"
said Craig Foster, Executive Vice
President at the Building Industry Association of Southern California (BIASC). "SoCalGas
has always been a true partner to builders throughout Southern
California. In addition to very generous energy efficiency
incentives, the green building expertise and level of service
provided by the SoCalGas Account Representatives is
outstanding. These folks support our builder members every
step on the way, from the early design stage through final
inspection and delivery of the builder's incentive checks."
SoCalGas saved customers $65.4 million in 2019 on their annual gas
bills through SoCalGas' energy efficiency programs. The energy
savings is equivalent to removing nearly 293,000 metric tons of
greenhouse gas emissions and taking more than 63,000 cars off
California roads for one year.
SoCalGas continues to be a leader in researching and developing
new technologies that improve energy efficiency and protect the
environment. Between 2015 and 2019, SoCalGas energy
efficiency programs delivered more than 208 million
therms in energy savings, enough natural gas usage for 127,000
households a year, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs)
by over 1,100,000 metric tons, the equivalent of removing
nearly 238,000 cars from the road annually. These
advances have also helped save SoCalGas
customers over $229 million in utility bill
costs.
SoCalGas' commitment to protecting the environment and reaching
California's ambitious climate
goals stretches beyond energy efficiency. Last year, SoCalGas
announced its vision to become the cleanest natural gas utility in
North America by delivering a
21st century energy system that works for all
Californians. This system would include replacing 20 percent of the
traditional natural gas supply with renewable natural gas (RNG) by
2030. It also has the potential to include several other clean
energy strategies such as hydrogen and will provide clean, reliable
and affordable energy.
To learn more about SoCalGas and its vision for
the21st century energy system, please visit
socalgas.com/vision.
About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is
the largest natural gas distribution utility in the
United States. SoCalGas delivers
affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable natural gas
service to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square
miles of Central and Southern California, where more than
90 percent of residents use natural gas for heating, hot water,
cooking, drying clothes or other uses. Natural gas delivered
through the company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing
electricity to Californians— about 45 percent of electric
power generated in the state comes from gas-fired power
plants.
SoCalGas' vision is to be the cleanest natural gas utility in
North America, delivering
affordable and increasingly renewable energy to its customers. In
support of that vision, SoCalGas is committed to replacing 20
percent of its traditional natural gas supply with renewable
natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from
waste created by dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment
plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its natural gas
system infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for our
customers. From 2014 through 2018, the company invested
nearly $6.5 billion to upgrade and modernize its natural
gas system to enhance safety and reliability. SoCalGas is a
subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy
services holding company based in San Diego. For more
information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with
SoCalGas
on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas)
and Facebook.
About ENERGY STAR
ENERGY STAR® is the government-backed symbol for
energy efficiency, providing simple, credible, and unbiased
information that consumers and businesses rely on to make
well-informed decisions. Thousands of industrial, commercial,
utility, state, and local organizations—including more than 40
percent of the Fortune 500®—rely on their partnership with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deliver cost-saving energy
efficiency solutions. Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners
helped save American families and businesses nearly 4 trillion
kilowatt-hours of electricity and achieve over 3.5 billion metric
tons of greenhouse gas reductions. In 2018 alone, ENERGY STAR and
its partners helped Americans avoid $35
billion in energy costs. More background information about
ENERGY STAR can be found at: energystar.gov/about and
energystar.gov/numbers.
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SOURCE Southern California Gas Company